Waiting for the Rain

In 1978, director Karel Kachyňa made two films from one budget: the summer comedy Setkání v červenci (Meeting in July) and a poetic story of an adolescent young girl called Čekání na déšť (Waiting for the Rain). The protagonist of the story is 12-year-old Alena, who spends the hot summer holidays alone at home in a Prague apartment complex. Alena engages in both real and invented encounters with her neighbours, primarily the blind Taraba and soldier Pavel, who is just getting over a relationship heartbreak. The anxiously awaited rains permit Alena to momentarily forget the complicated adult world, with which she is having her first contact… This sensitive examination of a child’s-eye view forms one of many of Karel Kachyňa’s films in which the director examines the world through the eyes of young protagonists. Dita Kaplanová debuts in the starring role.